It’s not often that you find the Nike Air Force 1 Mid positioned as a featured footwear product, but Brush by Ben Smith seems not to care about its low-profile standing; in fact, its past seems to make it a perfect showcase piece for the artist.

The all black leather AF1 mid tops feature a hand painted geometric camouflage along the quarters of the sneaker. The artwork is painted with an aqua themed color scheme, varying from shades of blue, purple and black. The shoes are the finished with black leather laces from Aglit Italy.

Brush has long been featured here at Baller Mind Frame and the artwork by founding artist Ben Smith is always impressive. In this display, debuted is the PUMA Basket x Brush x Rockie Fresh, customized especially for the music artist, and you can see all the details, courtesy of photography by Brush.

The all white leather Puma Baskets feature a hand painted geometric camouflage in various shades of gold along the Puma Form Strip. The shoes are finished with white leather laces from Aglit Italy.

Georgia State forward and March Madness darling R.J. Hunter has decided to take his talents to the NBA.

With his junior season now in the rear view mirror, Hunter decided to add his name into the NBA Draft. He couldn’t pick a better time to do it.

Early in the season, Hunter was considered a possible lottery pick. While he shot the ball well, a year full of defenses honing in on him as the main cog for the Georgia State offense poked holes into his game. Hunter is still considered to be a first round pick thanks to his length and shooting ability.

Hunter made himself a national name after he hit the go ahead shot to push Georgia State past Baylor in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

He also made Ron Hunter, his dad, a household name when he fell out of his chair after hitting the shot.

The last four seasons for the Oklahoma City Thunder have become the movie pitch for a sports tragedy. Every small step forward in the present is three steps backwards for the future. Calculated roster moves have blown up in their face, and each postseason has been considered an indictment of their wasted potential.

Playoff results

2011-12: Defeated by Miami Heat in NBA Finals (1-4)

2012-13: Lost to Memphis Grizzlies in Western Conference Semifinals (1-4)*

2013-14: Beat by San Antonio Spurs in Western Conference Finals (2-4)**

Since making the Finals, the Thunder have been something between snakebitten, Base-Cursed, and Homer Simpson attempting to roll the sexy dice.

Even when things go right for the Thunder, they go wrong. Thunder GM Sam Presti made solid moves to remove a locker room malcontent (although getting rid of Reggie Jackson and keeping Dion Waiters is questionable), add some picks for future leverage, and acquire a reliable inside scoring presence with upside (Enes Kanter). All of those moves were made with the assumption that Durant would be near full strength for a strong playoff push.

Sure, it’s great that the role players are better, but earning the eighth-seed in the West without the reigning MVP is not what Presti had in mind. The notoriously cheap Thunder would have waited to make these moves, especially considering the unintended consequence of Westbrook’s MVP candidacy.

The ever-fickle media has now decided to adorn Westbrook’s game although he’s doing the exact same thing he’s always done, just more of it with Durant being sidelined. Oh yeah, and he’s getting triple doubles at a high rate – who gives a flying flamingo? Very few people were singing Westbrook’s praises or even considering him for MVP before the mild-mannered, reigning MVP mentioned the obvious.

In fact, Westbrook is still being brutally frank with some members of the media and they are letting it go now because he’s the undisputed star of the team with Durant out.

Westbrook’s snarky attitude and competitive nature are why he’s so snappy with the media. Leaders, no, winners have these qualities and Westbrook exemplifies this every game by filling up the stat sheet even while blowing close games at the end.

The sad truth is that Westbrook has always been this player: unappreciated next to Durant’s brilliance and given too much blame when the house of cards falls down. The pendulum is swinging too far in one direction more often than not. Fair criticism becomes conflated with click-baiting hyperbole which is why Durant lashing out at the media over Scott Brook’s job security is totally understandable.

No one knows what the future holds for the Thunder’s future except for a few key facts.

The Thunder will not advance to the second round of the playoffs this season.

Durant’s contract ends next season.

Thunder fans know that being a perennial eighth-seed or a annual championship contender will be determined on their playoff success in the 2015-16.

Durant could come back 100 percent next year and the team could still find themselves on the couch in June. The West is that competitive. The implications of a disappointing 2014-15 season were already covered in detail for Baller Mind Frame’s 2014-15 NBA Season preview. No one wants to keep banging their head against the wall if it won’t fall down. The change should have come at head coach two seasons ago since the necessary talent was already present. Instead, the Thunder must now choose between a point guard with a history of knee injuries and the talents of a Marvel superhero, and one of the most efficient scoring forwards the game has ever seen who has suffered the career-altering Jones fracture.

Before its current relationship with the Swoosh, the Michigan State University Spartans were known for their alignment with Reebok. Now, with the Spartans back in the Final Four, Reebok is celebrating the past with its Reebok Classic Question Mid ‘Michigan State’ edition.

See the initial Allen Iverson signature, courtesy of our friends at Reebok Classic.

Reebok Classic is giving college basketball fans one more thing to celebrate this March. Announcing a limited release of the green/white Question Mid, Reebok Classic is proud to bring back one of the most requested colorways of the iconic model that dominated the tourney years ago.

Available in adult and grade school sizing, these won’t last long. Head to Finish Line, VILLA, Shoe Palace, MR. ALANS, or Reebok.com on April 3rd and get yours for $140 ($95 for grade school).

Reebok and Kendrick Lamar brought the streets of Los Angeles to a standstill through a once-in-a-lifetime fusion of fitness and music.

Hundreds of runners — unaware of the Kendrick Lamar performance — gathered at a parking lot at Sunset and Hilldale for a Reebok run, and were completely surprised by Kendrick as he and a full band rolled up on a sixteen wheeler, flatbed truck to provide live music for all the runners.

Wearing Reebok’s revolutionary ZPump Fusion shoe, which launched on March 10th, the runners followed along and formed a dramatic convoy as they were flanked by police outriders and camera crews.

Kendrick Lamar played some of his crowd favorites and caused a huge commotion on the street as hundreds of runners ran up Sunset, collecting bystanders and pedestrians along the way who also joined in on the run. The runners then turned right on North Crescent Heights Blvd and then took another right on Melrose before finishing at the Reebok Lounge, located at 8462 Melrose Avenue. Lamar then hosted an after party at the Reebok Lounge as a cool down for all the runners who joined in for the run.

“Reebok and I have a shared goal to inspire, so helping people to get pumped though music and fitness was perfect – performing in such a unique way, creating a real experience and encouraging people through a run in my hometown of LA. Partnering with Reebok, we always want to do something different and that will get people moving and this is an example of us coming together to create something special” said Kendrick Lamar.

We will be providing a web ready clip of the run on Thursday and will pass along as soon as we have it.

ABOUT THE ZPUMP FUSION SHOE
Unlike traditional running shoes which are often made up of over 40 individual parts, the ZPump Fusion is constructed from just three, which means no unnecessary components or rigid parts to restrict movement in the foot. It’s also one of the first running shoes to provide a fully customizable fit, thanks to Pump technology that adapts to your foot.

The ZPump Fusion is available for $110 from retailers including Finish Line and Reebok.com.

The McDonald’s All American Game has one of the most treasured high school basketball games for over 30 years. Seeing the future stars of college and pro players has always had its national genesis in this game, and now adidas debuts a new set for the 2015 gala affair.

See of the details, courtesy of our friends at adidas.

adidas and McDonald’s today unveiled the 2015 McDonald’s All American Games uniform and footwear for the best high school basketball players to wear when they take the court at Chicago’s United Center on April 1.

The uniform short features an enlarged McDonald’s logo on the left leg and adidas three stripe branding along the right leg. The exaggerated waistband brings a pop of color to the black and white uniforms while the name and numbering uses 3M reflective material in metallic hues for an eye-catching look on the court.

Jerseys were designed with the same lightweight, sweat-wicking technology used in the NBA and targeted ventilation zones on the chest, back and side to keep players cool even in the most intense moments of the game. A perforated pattern on the short maximizes comfort and breathability as the game heats up.

Players will lace-up the latest adidas basketball footwear including a limited edition colorway of the D Lillard 1 and D Rose 5 Boost signature shoes from NBA All-Stars Damian Lillard and Derrick Rose. The shoes feature a purple suede upper and black trim with the McDonald’s All American Games logo prominently displayed on the tongue.

Fans can grab their own McDonald’s All American Games footwear and apparel beginning today at adidas.com and this weekend at adidas Sport Performance Chicago in Water Tower Place.

Stay tuned to the adidas Basketball Facebook page, and follow on Twitter and Instagram with #McDAAG

Damian Lillard is known for showing his fans love and today was no different as the NBA All-Star surprised 20 lucky fans at Foot Locker in Portland with pairs of his limited edition D Lillard 1 Florist City edition.

Designed as an homage to Portland’s famous rose gardens and Rose Festival with an all-red upper featuring a rose print TECHFIT bootie, green detailing mirrored after the flower’s stem and a raindrop splatter pattern to represent Portland’s weather. A unique 4-Bar Friday about the Rose City is inscribed on the sockliner.

Stay tuned to the adidas Basketball Facebook page, and follow on Twitter and Instagram @adidasHoops with #DLillard1

Many people know Stephen Curry now, which is quite an understatement considering his star power, but relatively few knew him as a college player playing for Davidson College. Undersized and very unknown, he gained popularity after lighting up teams as an NCAA All-American guard and even then, he wasn’t taken totally seriously.

Now, Curry is the frontrunner to become the NBA MVP and to celebrate his roots is the Under Armour Curry One ‘Underdog’.

See all of the details here at Baller Mind Frame, courtesy of our friends at Under Armour.

By now you’ve heard the story about how Stephen Curry, one of the game’s most unstoppable forces, didn’t receive a lot of attention from the scouts or colleges when he was in high school. He didn’t play in well known All-America games. Didn’t have his pick of top college programs. That part of his journey gave him that little bit of extra motivation to work harder. In pursuit of his dream he now had the opportunity to prove the doubters wrong.

Even though he was Dell Curry‘s son no one gave him any free passes on his path. After getting overlooked in high school it was his memorable performances during the NCAA tournament where he led a small school past national powerhouses that he first put the world on notice that they should be aware of the Underdog. The Underdog Curry One represents that journey and his coming out moment.

The upper and midsole feature a Metallic Silver color with Steel Red accents throughout the shoe with a reflective logo. On the inside tongue is “Underdog” and three circle graphics on the tongue’s lace loop represents his family and belief in himself.

The Underdog Curry One drops on April 3 for $120 at UA.com and other retailers.